Mom and Dad
In the midst of all that is going on with me health wise we are starting to undergo another transition.
Mom and Dad have lived in New Baltimore, NY for over 48 years. It is the only family home I have known. There is a picture of mom holding me on the back patio as they brought me from the hospital to their new home. Over the years there have been many great memories and there are plenty of stories to tell about the time we spent in that home. The time has come to start a new chapter in life and say goodbye to that very special place.
Our family home in New Baltimore, NY
There is a new young family who have purchased the home and will begin to make their own memories and stories there. I pray they find their time at the home as rewarding and enriching as our family did.
Mom and Dad have decided to move closer to Nancy, Rayann and myself. They are in the process of purchasing a home in the next town over from ours. It will be exciting to have them near us for the first time since I left home at 18. Needless to say the transition is not necessarily easy. It is hard to leave behind all that you know and have worked to create…even though you believe it to be the right thing to do. My brothers and I have worked closely with them to help them prepare and be ready to move. Moving day is quickly approaching. This time next week Nancy and I will be in NY helping Mom and Dad pack up some final items and then traveling with them back down to PA. There will be a few weeks where they will live with us as we walk through the closings on the home in NY and then here in PA. [Read more…]
“Come on, don’t be a loser.” This was what my dad said as he held out the wasabi peas to me and my brother. Of course we didn’t want to be losers, so we ate them, jumped around a bit and then smiled at the fact that we were not losers. Dares like that are a common thing with him. They are usually followed by what I now call “The Look” from my mother. He was always joking around and daring someone to do something. One of the jokes I could never seem to get was the “Rayann your food looks a little weird. Let me smell it to make sure it’s ok.” of course I didn’t want weird food, so I would hand him my food, usually an ice cream bar or something like that. He would smell it and then take a big bite. I would say something like “NO, don’t eat it all!” and my mom or brother would say, “He does that every time. You shouldn’t be falling for that!”. I fell for that for longer than I would like to admit. My dad and I have always been partners. We have our own traditions; things that my mother and brother were usually not included in. Our Dunkin donuts mornings are one of my favorites.
ntain dew. That was one of the best parts of going somewhere with Dad, you almost always got to do something mom wouldn’t approve of. We would sit there for a while, I would eat my breakfast and then it was off to school. That’s another reason why those mornings were so amazing. I got to come to school late. My dad would walk me down the hallway, passing moms classroom on the way. Mom knew this was a tradition of ours. Luckily, my teacher liked me enough, so she didn’t mind I was late. She probably wasn’t thrilled about my breakfast choice that morning. The jelly donut has always been my favorite. We don’t really go out for that anymore, but my dad still has his ways of bringing it back. On my fifteenth birthday my dad went out that morning and got me fifteen jelly donuts. There is one birthday that was just me and my dad the whole day.
and my dad. We planned out a whole day. We started by eating a nutritious breakfast, which was a cinnabon, the biggest cinnamon roll I have ever had. The next stop was the movies. I picked out “Cats and Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore”. My dad, being the good sport he is, made it through the movie. Next on the agenda was the pottery place. We each picked out something to paint. I picked out a little dog and Dad picked out a little plate. At the time I thought a plate was a pretty boring choice, but I didn’t question it. I painted my dog purple with pink dots. My dad took the plate and put “Happy Birthday Rayann” in the middle and then put “2010” at the bottom. On the sides he put peace signs, which at the time I was obsessed with. Both the dog and plate have a spot on the hutch. By that time it was probably around 2pm, it was time for lunch. I had picked out the Cheesecake Factory. I figured it would be great considering my dad and I are both cheesecake lovers. The restaurant was a pretty fancy place. I ordered shrimp thinking it would be like the popcorn shrimp I like; it wasn’t. When it came out I must have looked a little overwhelmed because Dad laughed a bit. Overall it was pretty good, but I was there for the cheesecake. I ordered a slice of Reese’s cheesecake. I was expecting a nice little slice, but what I got was a pretty big slice. I was able to eat a little bit of it, but decided it would be better to take it home. After that it was time to go home. When we got home my mom had invited my grandparents, my Aunt and Uncle and younger cousins over. She had made my favorite meal and favorite sides. Nana also made banana pudding which is my favorite desert. My dad and I just looked at each other and kind of laughed because we weren’t really hungry, we had spent the day eating. That was one of my best birthdays. Not all my favorite memories with my dad involve food.
for it. He asked me what color I wanted to paint it, purple was the answer. The next thing we had to do was find tires for it. We went to about three different stores before we found the right size. The next thing we had to do was put it together. That didn’t take too long. I thought we were all finished, but he went to the store one more time. When he came back he had sticker letters to put on it. They spelled out my name. That may not seem like a big deal, but with a name like “Rayann” I rarely ever find anything with my name on it, so it was a big deal. I was pretty excited with the finished product. I had my own purple wagon with my name on it. I still have the wagon. Anytime yard work is involved, I bring it out.
p and told Nancy, “Let me take you out to for a real dinner for being so nice and going with me tonight.” Well, the rest my friends is 25 years of history. It did not take me long to realize how special a woman Nancy is. We were engaged in less than a year, married just a few weeks after college graduation [her mother insisted we do it quickly, rather than take the entire summer to prepare for the big day :)] and have never looked back. I have been blessed to call her my friend, partner, wife, confidant, and mother of my children for these last 25 years. She could not make me any happier than she does. I hope I make her half as happy as she has made me.
